401(k) Distribution Options

If you are retiring or leaving your employer and have a 401(k) or similar retirement plan, you have some crucial decisions to make. What is the best strategy? Lump-sum? Rollover? Trustee-to-trustee transfer?

Qualified funds in your retirement accounts enjoy special tax-deferred status. However, if you elect a lump-sum distribution, all of that money (and growth!) is “tax-infested” meaning it has never been taxed and will be

become taxable all at once if immediately withdrawn and not re-deposited into another qualified account by the deadline.

The Tax Code allows a 60 day window to relocate or rollover the money from your qualified employer retirement plan to another. Keep in mind that taking a lump-sum distribution or doing regular rollover also means your employer is required to withhold 20% for federal income tax.

Would you rather continue to enjoy the tax-deferred status or even turn your tax-infested retirement plan into a tax-free one? Would you like to accomplish this without a 20% withholding?

Your retirement distribution expert and tax professional can help you understand the lump-sum distribution, rollover and trustee-to-trustee transfer options you have available with respect to your 401(k) or other retirement plans.

A retirement plan review is part of the complimentary services your retirement distribution expert and tax professional offer to their clients - make sure you take advantage of all of the free planning and review services that are available!

Pitch Perfect

Your “elevator speech” is the short, concise answer to “What do you do?” Your goal is to answer that question in the short ride you share with someone in an elevator. The trip is short; you need to get their attention! So, if you were to write your elevator pitch today how would you do it?

Here are a few tips:

To start, right one sentence about who you are and what you do. Maybe, “I help people manage their safe money.”

Next, write one sentence describing the benefits of what you do. Focus on the prospect what they gain as a

result of engaging your services.

The next step is to describe your ideal clients. For example you could say, “In general, I specialize in working with people who have IRAs and other types of retirement plans that are heavily tax infested to mitigate and sometimes eliminate that problem. Specifically, we can deal with heavy, immediate, and unnecessary taxation that can destroy a lifetime savings.”

Now you need to describe what makes you and your firm unique. This is your value proposition – what it is that you do that is different from the competition. For example,” I help my clients preserve, protect, and defend their retirement assets!”

The final part of your elevator speech is the most important – asking for the appointment. This can be something subtle such as, “perhaps we could meet for coffee next week to discuss how my firm and I can help you mitigate and eliminate the tax infestation in your IRA and show you how to parlay your retirement plan into a fortune for both you and your family.”

But don’t forget to close with a date and time – “Bill how about if we meet next Tuesday at Starbucks for about 10 or 15 minutes?”

Once you have all this your pitch is now complete. Type it up, print a copy to keep in your briefcase and your car and memorize your pitch so that you can have it ready any time the opportunity presents itself.

10 Reasons You Need to Be In Vegas

1. Bill Harris will share sales concepts that will skyrocket your annuity and life sales and you will also receive a FREE copy of his bestselling book.
2. Would you like to be on local TV 2-3 times per month as a retirement distribution strategy expert? We can make that happen and it will cost you nothing!
3. Hear how to tap into the exploding 401(k) rollover market. Two of our speakers will share with you their proven systems that have resulted in millions of sales.
4. With 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring daily they face a daunting task of fending off the 5^th retirement risk. Resolve these for your clients by learning the latest on creating sustainable retirement income streams.
5. Our session on the Broker-Dealer of the future will focus on the most important issue facing the investment advice industry today: the Department of Labor’s rule to raise investment advice standards for retirement accounts affecting millions of American workers and retirees.
6. As women plan for retirement, they need advisors who understand their unique challenges and concerns. Two top female advisors will share their secrets to successfully engage and advise women on retirement.
7. Do you know how you will evolve your value proposition to address the need for retirement income? Our President and 2014 Advisor of the Year will share how advisors can evolve and thrive.
8. You’ll see a wonderful presentation highlighting the risks that retirees face in the later years of their retirement and present solutions to minimize of eliminate these risks.
9. Our Director of Advanced Markets will demonstrate how to retire tax free through a tremendous presentation on tax efficient retirement planning.
10. You want to learn about an exclusive new marketing system that can make your sales grow quickly and assure that 2016 will be your best year ever – GUARANTEED! Other Financial Marketing Organizations promise marketing results… WE have a proven formula that can deliver.

Call Samantha Mayer today to register! 866-225-1786 ex. 315

March 22nd Press Release

Table Bay Financial Announces Hiring of Nefzer as Senior Vice President National Sales Development

Table Bay Financial Network, Inc. announced today that Richard Nefzer has been appointed Senior Vice President of National Sales Development.

Mr. Nefzer will have responsibility for developing sales within the independent, Broker-Dealer, and CPA Channels throughout the United States and will be based in Arizona.

Rick has spent the last 41 years acquiring the knowledge and expertise needed to broker insurance successfully. Recruited to Prudential right after graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he went on to positions as a wholesaler, brokerage manager and regional vice president with Manulife, Lincoln Financial and Genworth.

Barry Bulakites, President and Chief Distribution Officer said, “We are thrilled about Rick joining the team. He adds an extraordinary depth of knowledge on Life, Annuities, and Linked Benefit Products and we look forward to him becoming a strategic part of our sales and marketing efforts.”

Tax Crunch Q&A

Q: Social Security was my only source of income for 2015, is it taxable?
A: In general, if Social Security is your only income source, benefits are not taxable.

Q: I inherited an IRA from my brother who passed away in February 2015 at age 76. He passed away before taking his 2015 RMD so I took it in October 2015. Is the RMD reported on his estate tax return or my 2015 tax return?
A: Your tax return. Year of death RMDs are reported on the recipient’s tax return.

Q: I retired and transferred all of my 401(k) assets, including highly appreciated employer stock, to an IRA last year. I recently discovered that a Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) strategy could give me a huge tax advantage. Since I haven’t filed my tax return yet, may I still elect to use an NUA strategy?
A: No. Unfortunately, once you transferred your highly appreciated employer stock to an IRA, the opportunity to use an NUA strategy was permanently eliminated. To preserve an NUA strategy opportunity, among other requirements, the shares must have been transferred in-kind to a taxable account.

Q: I requested my 2015 RMD on December 31st but I just found out from my IRA custodian that I will get a 1099-R for 2016, not 2015…why?
A: The distribution year is determined by the processing date, which may differ from the date you make a request. It is important to know your IRA custodian’s deadline for processing distribution requests. Some custodians require that distribution requests be submitted no later than mid-December to ensure RMD processing satisfies the December 31st deadline. There is a 50% penalty imposed by the IRS for failing to take a timely RMD.

Q: May I deduct losses in my IRA on my 2015 tax return?
A: Generally no, unless you cash out all your IRAs of the same type. Losses and gains are not taken into account on your tax return while your IRA is still open. You may, however, deduct your Traditional IRA losses only if the total balance that you withdraw is less than the after-tax amounts (basis) in your TIRAs. Your basis is attributed to non-deductible contributions and rollovers of after-tax amounts from qualified plans, 403(b) accounts and 457(b) plans. You also must file IRS Form 8606.

Are Your Marketing Mistakes Costing You Time and Money?

Too often advisors adopt marketing initiatives into their practice that are harmful rather than helpful. Many of these harmful marketing efforts are costly and highly ineffective. As 2016 begins, Table Bay is here to offer our expertise on how to help you avoid those costly mistakes.

 In this webinar, you will learn to identify the Top 10 Most Common Marketing Mistakes and how you can avoid them. Find out how you can bypass these mistakes and successfully navigate them so that you achieve what you are trying to accomplish… EFFECTIVE MARKETING!

Take the necessary steps to proactively plan your marketing TODAY by attending this webinar. You can’t afford to miss out on this opportunity!

Sign up today (CLICK HERE) to hear the top 10 common marketing mistakes and learn how to avoid them!

Is Tax-Free Retirement Possible?

YES, it is! So what is the big secret to tax-free retirement, is it some new product or unique investment?

Most people are already familiar with typical taxable investment plans which include tax-deferred assets such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s. But are you looking for a tax-free retirement?

You can enjoy a tax-free retirement by incorporating tax-free investments into your existing retirement plan today. Your retirement distribution planning expert can help you determine what will work best for you in your personal situation. You could consider incorporating assets that generate tax-free wealth such as Roth IRAs or Life Insurance…yes, Life Insurance! The key is to identify the tax-free strategies that are suitable for you.

What types of assets can help you create a tax-free retirement? Contact your retirement distribution expert and develop your tax-free retirement strategy!

We also have a special training on tax-free retirement coming up on March 29^th in Los Angeles! Sign up today to secure your spot HERE.

Tax Relief: What is “Reasonable Cause”?

Taxpayers who miss certain deadlines or fail to follow certain rules can try to seek relief by showing “reasonable cause” as to why a deadline or other rule wasn’t followed. But a common question arises: what constitutes “reasonable cause” in these situations?

Unfortunately there is no real black and white answer. Although the IRS does not offer clear cut rules, there is some guidance that can be gleaned from regulations, private letter rulings and court cases.

Reasonable cause is usually established by something wholly out of the taxpayer’s control such as grave illness, death or erroneous advice from the IRS itself. Other factors that may be considered include whether there was willful neglect on the taxpayer’s part, whether the taxpayer used ordinary care and prudence, and whether the tax payer was diligent and took prompt action once the error was discovered.

In a case that went to the Federal Court of Claims, Stine v. U.S., Mrs. Stine missed a gift tax filing deadline. She cited several health problems as “reasonable cause” and presented proof of various health issues including pneumonia, recurrent upper respiratory infections, knee pain, knee replacement surgery, a thyroid growth, heart palpitations, and cataract surgery. The Federal Court of Claims still denied her request for penalty abatement under the Tax Code…why?

Mrs. Stine’s evidence showed she was only in the hospital for one night and during this time she had made several other (arguably more complicated) transactions that were unaffected by her list of ailments. The Court denied her request for relief because she did not show reasonable cause under the circumstances and stated that “Mrs. Stine was only selectively incapacitated as to her gift tax obligations.”

The Court affirmed Mrs. Stine’s obligation to pay $450,000 in penalties plus $21,500 in interest, ouch.

Source: Stine v. United States, 106 Fed. Cl. 586, 588 (2012)

Charitable Gift Donations

T’is the season for donating gifts to your favorite charities! If you plan to deduct any of your charitable donations on your 2015 tax return, hopefully you kept good records throughout the year and any receipts (whenever possible) from charitable organizations. Below are just a few basic reminders about charitable gifts:

No QCDs. The Qualified Charitable Distribution option for IRA owners was not extended through 2015. Hopefully we will see this marvelous option make a permanent comeback!

Did you donate to a qualified charity? The charity must be an eligible charity for your gift to be tax-deductible. Churches, temples, synagogues, mosques and government agencies are always eligible.

Gifts are deductible for the year in which it was made. As long as your check was mailed in 2015, it will count as a 2015 donation. Many people also use credit cards to make a charitable donation. As long as it was charged in 2015, it will count for 2015 (even if you still have an outstanding credit card balance for the donated amount in 2016).

Keep Good Records. Keep track of and save detailed receipts for all donations of property, including clothes, appliances or other tangible items. If a donation is left at a charity’s unattended drop site, you must keep a written record including the name, date, fair market value (FMV) and method of FMV calculation used.

Did you donate property valued in excess of $250? Additional rules apply for a contribution of $250 or more.

Portfolio Protection!

As a financial service professional, you take upon yourself the role of helping your clients build their financial futures.  Undoubtedly, during your years of training for this demanding profession you have come across the financial planning pyramid (at least one of MANY versions), used by financial advisors to explain the concept of asset protection and financial priorities.

As you will recall, the foundation of the financial pyramid is protection yet many clients’ portfolios are completely unprotected from the “4 Risks of Retirement.”  Those risks are: 1) Longevity Risk; 2) Interest Rate Risk; 3) Market Risk; and 4) Tax Risk.  As a financial services professional, you take upon yourself the role of helping your clients build their financial futures. But many advisors have not dealt with the wolf that lurks in the shadows, the 5^th risk to retirement…the financially devastating effects of expenses stemming from Long-Term Care (LTC).

Many top advisory firms are taking a fresh look at a better way to assure the foundation of protection is secured before discussing investing.  Today we know that less than 10.7% of Americans have the correct protection in place to deal with the wolf.  So are we suggesting you sell them LTC insurance?  Nothing could be farther from the truth!  In fact, we are not fans of LTC insurance and don’t believe it’s the best option for dealing with managing risk.

Advisors need to take this growing LTC risk seriously.  Not only is the client’s portfolio at risk from an LTC illness they (or a spouse) may suffer, but an advisor’s income is in jeopardy.  How?  Clients begin to withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars out of accounts that are being managed by the advisor to deal with this uninsured risk.  This is portfolio protection for the client and it is portfolio protection for the advisor!

There are two questions every financial professional should ask clients: 

• You may never need care, but if you did, how will that affect your family, spouse, adult children, family dynamics and finances?
• If you need care, how will you pay for it?

Today there are NEW solutions to the catastrophic problem of a Long-Term Care event.  This solution allows clients to reposition and leverage an existing asset, typically money in CDs, savings, annuities, IRAs or retirement plan funds, as a guaranteed single premium.

We have found that many advisors don’t feel comfortable discussing these gaps in protection with clients so they simply never raise the issue.  But what about the likelihood that 70% of those reaching 65 will experience an LTC event before age 85 that will last, on average, 3.9 years and cost $100,000 per year?

Our Elite Marketing Program can help you articulate this problem and motivate prospects and clients into taking action.  This solution can help safeguard a client’s assets by providing income tax free money to handle LTC expenses in their own home or in an assisted living facility.

Additionally, should the client’s needs change or the client simply changes his/her mind at any time, the client can request a full refund of the single premium.

Special Highlights of this Solution:

• This is Not an LTC Policy
• Premiums are 100% Guaranteed - No Risk of Increase
• Joint Life Coverage
• Lifetime Benefits
• Qualified Money Allowed
• Turn Highly Appreciated Non-Qualified Annuities Into Tax-Free Money

Helping your clients protect their assets and prepare for the future is essential as 10,000 Baby Boomers retire each month.  By addressing this critical LTC risk, you will open new doors of opportunities and unearth new clients, creating new revenue streams.  This will also differentiate and grow your practice, protecting it in the long term.  Top advisors are asking their clients these questions and adopting these new strategies – shouldn’t you too?

Table Bay Financial Network is America’s Premier FMO combining preferred products, unparalleled marketing and world-class training designed to drive and increase revenue while drastically cutting marketing costs.   Call us.

The Truth about Fixes Indexed Annuities

Tony Robbins Wants Your Job!

What do Walmart, Wells Fargo, major wirehouses and Tony Robbins all have in common? They’re all part of a growing stampede to sell Fixed Indexed Annuities. 2014 will end up as the year where Fixed Indexed Annuity sales were up over 36% from the previous year, a new record high for FIA sales.

Financial commentators of all stripes tend to harp on high profile cases where consumers were sold annuities ill-suited to their needs. These commentators also claim annuities are too complicated, expensive and have inflexible terms, making them unattractive to changing needs.

Many advisors believe annuities offer clients little more than 3 to 4% interest. We believe the public is not getting a balanced picture and the time has come to set the record straight and give consumers the truth about fixed indexed annuities.

It’s crucial to disseminate accurate information to clients about what fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) do and why they should be considered as part of a retirement portfolio. A fundamental problem is that many advisors simply dismiss FIAs products as having no real value. New marketplace voices, i.e., Tony Robbins, should be a wake-up call to our industry and help advisors realize that clients do in fact value what FIAs offer and they want the benefits of an FIA. Robbins even stated there is a major unfilled need for products that protect consumers from market risk and simultaneously produce tremendous streams of guaranteed income.

FIAs are designed to guarantee income, offer peace of mind and provide protection and that’s why nearly 90% of annuity owners buy them – they protect contract holders from losing money. It’s important for advisors to keep their story simple and this is where someone like Tony Robbins excels, keeping his story short, sweet and attractive to consumers which can threaten your relationship with your clients. But why do consumers find the story so appealing?

Years ago, workers could count on monthly income from corporate defined benefit retirement plans and retail buyers had little contact with annuities. Most hadn’t even heard of annuities, which tended to be the purview of institutional money managers. With Baby Boomers retiring in droves and searching for guaranteed income, annuities enter into the lexicon more frequently. FIAs have emerged out of the shadows and whether from lawmakers on Capitol Hill mulling the merits of the Security Throughout Retirement Act or Treasury Department experts issuing the final version of the Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract last month, it’s clear that FIAs are capturing public attention and gaining a larger market share.

FIA deposits were at record levels and closed out 2015 at $50 Billion. Why the record growth:

•Deposits remain entirely in your control - you are not giving up access to your cash.

•FIAs offer the potential for significantly higher annual returns than other “safe money” solutions such as CDs or bonds.

•Your principal is 100% guaranteed – you can’t lose money.

•FIA growth is tax-deferred, maximizing compound growth of your retirement income fund.

•You get income insurance or guaranteed income for life when you select an optional income rider.

So what is the truth? It’s really all about Income, Income, Income.

As powerful a tool as FIAs can be for safe money return, what makes them so attractive is their ability to protect principle and simultaneously provide a guaranteed lifetime income stream, not to mention tax efficiency and upside potential without the downside risk.

No other financial product in the marketplace today does all of these things as efficiently as a fixed indexed annuity. Learning the truth about FIAs and their power give advisors the opportunity to immediately serve their clients’ best interests. Our Special Report is a definitive guide to Fixed Indexed Annuities; please call our office at (866) 225-1786, Ext 315 for a copy.

We look forward to the opportunity to clearing up the myths, hype and confusion surrounding these important investment vehicles.

Winning the Sales War in 2016

There are Only 3 Ways to Increase Your Level of Success

Table Bay Financial has the great pleasure of working with and consulting with successful advisors throughout the country. The truth is, we all want the same thing…we want a greater level of success.

Everyone’s definition of success may be slightly different… some advisors with whom we work want a higher level of personal income, some are focused on building a more efficient business, and some just want more free time to enjoy the successes they’ve worked hard to achieve.

There are only three ways to increase your level of success. When I share these three variables with advisors with whom we consult, there’s usually an instant moment of clarity. The irony is that these three success variables aren’t earth shattering, but having a clear understanding of the impact they can have on the bottom line is essential.

Success variable #1 – WALLET SHARE - if you get more wallets share from the clients you currently have and from prospective clients, you’ll obviously drive more premium and increase your income. This is accomplished by adding products and services into your overall mix.

Success variable #2 – INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES - in baseball terms, this is simple… The more at-bats that you get, the more hits you will get. In business terms, this is marketing. Get in front of more people. Frankly, this is one of the biggest things we work with advisors on – helping them create effective marketing campaigns to increase their opportunities. As much as we hate the cliché that “it’s a numbers game,” guess what… It’s a numbers game!

Success variable #3 – INCREASE CLOSING PERCENTAGE – if we want to stick with the baseball analogy, this is about getting in the batting cages working on your approach at the plate in order to increase your batting average. In business terms, this means becoming a more effective rainmaker – closing more opportunities.

It’s as simple as that. Those are the three variables to increase success. Unfortunately, most advisers attempt to make drastic improvements in just one of the areas, when small, incremental improvements in each drive remarkable growth.

Table Bay Financial has developed sales, marketing, and training programs to help you improve all three. The next step is always the hardest- call us and let’s talk about how to make 2016 your best year ever!

Advisor Summit Speaker Spotlight: Jack Marrion

Mr. Fixed Indexed Annuity – Jack Marrion is the President of the Indexed Compendium and the #1 Authority on FIAs for the past 20 years. Jack will be discussing the current state of affairs with FIAs and the impact the DOL Fiduciary Rule may have on future product designs, sales practices, and compensation. This is a must see presentation in Las Vegas at the 2016 Advisors Summit at the Venetian Resort. Take a look at the agenda and watch a brief webinar on the meeting using the wink below.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/1890615015032220161

Call Samantha Meyer to get registered NOW!!  1-866-225-1786 Ext. 315 

Today’s Safe Refuge for Lofty Returns and Matchless Tax Advantages

Are you looking for the flexibility of adjustable premiums and face amount, with the opportunity to increase cash value? What if you could do this without downside risk of investing in the market? It’s not a dream; it’s a reality with Indexed Universal Life Insurance.

What is Indexed Universal Life?

IUL policies offer tax-deferred cash accumulation for retirement while maintaining a death benefit. It is perfect for those individuals that need permanent life insurance protection but wish to take advantage of possible cash accumulation. Indexed Universal Life works great for key-man insurance for business owners, estate-planning vehicles, premium financing, and retirement income.

How Can They Do That?

A portion of the paid premium goes to annual renewable term insurance based on the life of the insured. All fees are paid and the remaining premium goes into the cash value of the policy. The cash value is credited with interest based on increases in the equity index. However, it is not directly invested in the stock market. Most IULs offer a guaranteed minimum fixed interest rate and a choice of indexes. The index gains are credited back to the policy either on a monthly or annual basis. For example, if the index gained 5% from January 2010 to January 2011, the 5% is multiplied by the cash value. The resulting interest is added to the cash value. If the index goes down instead of up, no interest is credited to the cash value, but their account value does not go down.

The Perks!

• Minimize Risk: The policy is not directly invested in the stock market, thus reducing risk

• Death Benefit: Permanent coverage

• Low Cost: The premiums are low

• Cash Value Accumulation: Cash value credited to the policy grows tax deferred. The cash value can pay the insurance premiums, which over time may allow the policy-holder to stop paying premiums out of pocket.

Advisor Summit Speaker Spotlight

Bill Harris

Bill Harris is the President of W.V.H. Inc., a consulting and intellectual services company that has provided concepts, books and myriad training tools to some of the largest companies in the financial services industry. Mr. Harris founded and has served as president of five other financial services companies that collectively wrote over $1 billion dollars in premium.

As one of the highlights of Table Bay’s 2016 Advisors Summit, Mr. Harris’ presentation is not to be missed! He will be sharing some of his most intriguing strategies, techniques and principles with attendees. As one of America’s most sought after experts, Mr. Harris has conducted over 3,000 seminars and conferences and has appeared in Money Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.


Click Here to register today! Don't forget to give us a call to find out if you qualify for a free stay at the Venetian!

2016 Advisor Summit

Our upcoming event is shaping up to be huge and you definitely don't want to miss out on this incredible opportunity!

Here is a glance at our preliminary agenda and some of the topics you will hear about while at the event:

• How will you evolve your value proposition to address the need for retirement income?
• Knowledge is power. Having annuity swagger is bliss.
• The 101 best and worst planning ideas for your clients retirement plans.
• 15 sales ideas in 15 minutes.
• Defusing the long-term care cost time bomb.
• The bear naked truth about annuities.

This is just a small snippet of what our incredible speakers will be touching on over the 2-day event. As a financial advisor, you CAN NOT afford to skip out on this fantastic opportunity!

Click Here to register today! Don't forget to give us a call to find out if you qualify for a free stay at the Venetian!